The Scholarly Hunter
by DARX26
Summary: A more intelligent Percy Jackson, one who has lived as a hunter for nearly a year and a half makes his way to Camp Halfblood. Friends with Artemis.


**New Story Idea, and I don't own Percy Jackson**

If anyone were to be watching this patch of forest in upstate New York, they would be surprised to see a bloody child come stumbling out from under a great oak tree, blood flowing like a river from a giant gash above his eye. That was not the least of his injuries though, it seemed as if some wild beast had attempted to tear off his arm, as it had a large bite mark going across his bicep, along with said arm being wrenched in the opposite direction that it normally goes. The most surprising thing, though, would be the dusting of golden powder over his whole body, which made it look like he had just left a rave, though he would be too young for such a thing, only being ten years old.

Fortunately, for the boy, though some would argue the other case, he was not alone in the forest as a girl of around 12 years old could be seen wandering around the area. Her eyes were a mixture of yellow and silver, making one think of the moon. She was dressed in a way that one wouldn't expect as she wore a silver lightweight jacket, and silver pants, though that wasn't the surprising thing, aside from how much silver she had on. The thing that truly made her stand out was the fact that she was carrying two hunting knives and a bow, though her quiver seemed to be empty. Her keen senses were able to pick up the scent of blood and salt, most likely from tears as she could hear some sniffling in the distance. Just as she made up her mind to search, a boy came stumbling right out of the forest, obviously the source of the blood and the noise as she could see he was coated in it and tears were streaming down his face. Normally, she would simply ignore him, as he was a boy, but she could detect some godly aura, though not enough to be a full god, most likely another demigod. Now, while she disliked boys, didn't mean she would intentionally ignore a lone demigod, out in the forest, especially an untrained one like this.

"Boy, tell me what happened," she bit out in a commanding tone, though she wasn't ready for the response she got as the boy descended into a fit of laughter.

"Hahaha, please tell me you weren't expecting to sound authoritative, cause that was just cute, a 12 year old trying to sound in control."

The girl simply gritted her teeth, 'I won't turn him into a Jackalope, he doesn't know better and is bleeding profusely, give him the benefit of the doubt.'

"You are lucky that you are in the shape that you are in, for that reason alone I will forgive you your folly and not turn you into a Jackalope, I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Moon, though if you don't believe me, perhaps this will convince you." With that, she assumed an older form, one of an 18 year old woman.

"Pretty, uh, whoops." The boy said, obviously realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry, Lady Artemis, no disrespect meant." As he said this, he bowed in apology, so he knew a little about the Greek Gods and Goddesses.

"I shall let it go for now, do not do it again. Now, it is obvious you were attacked by a monster from Greek Mythology, attracted by your scent, a problem common to demigods of any significant power."

"Wait, my mom is dead because of me? No, that's not fair, I should have died, not her. She did nothing wrong."

"While it is true that she did nothing wrong, neither did you. I am sorry for your loss, but it seems she was a good woman and a good mother if she protected you. Now, please, tell me of the events leading up to this."

"My mom and I came here on our way to our favorite vacation spot, a cabin by the sea, but I asked my mom if we could take a hike in the woods. She was a bit hesitant, but decided we had time. While we were walking around, I started hearing a snort and told my mom, she got scared and told me to stay close. We started making our way back to the car, but suddenly, a big thing that looked like the Minotaur..."

"First lesson, names have power, do not repeat them, use an alternative in the future, like Pasiphae's son," Artemis said, cutting me off.

"Sorry, the monster that looked like the man bull hybrid came charging out of the bushes swinging a club at me. I moved away from it, but my mom took out a bronze dagger, that I didn't know she had and tried to get me to run away while she held it off. I didn't want to, but she pushed me away. As I started going towards the road to maybe get help, I heard a sound like a watermelon cracking open, looking back, I saw that the club had hit my mom's head, she was dead. The thing was still angry and charged at me, I noticed that mom's dagger was on the ground beside me, so I picked it up and stabbed the thing in the ribs and tried to jump aside while it charged me, but it caught me arm in its mouth and nearly ripped it off while also swiping me in the head. I thought I was dead and then it suddenly erupted into this weird golden dust."

"You did well child, and your mother was a brave woman, do not feel that you abandoned her, it seems she knew more about this than you, and never told you. That was a mistake, but I understand why she did that. I just realized, I never got your name."

"It's Perseus, Perseus Jackson, but I go by Percy."

"Well, Perseus, as I am the Goddess of the Hunt and a maiden, I can not take you back with me to the hunt, as they dislike boys. But, I can aid you in getting to a place where demigods, otherwise known as halfbloods train to be able to survive."

"No thank you. I think I need some time to myself, and I will learn how to survive out here, I don't want to go somewhere where my dad would want me to go, it is obvious he abandoned mom and me, leaving us to live with Smelly Gabe, who abused mom and me. No, if I have anything to do with him, it will be on my terms when I am stronger."

"While I understand your thoughts, that may not be a good option. Your scent is strong and your mom would want you safe. Your father may not be to blame, either, the ancient laws prevent gods from raising their children, or even helping them beyond giving the occasional gift for a quest. Though, if you wish to be stubborn, I can leave you with some supplies and tips to survive in the wild. Here, before I forget, here is some ambrosia, the food of the gods, it will heal your wounds, but too much and you will burn up."

The next few hours were spent with Artemis giving me the basic knowledge on how to survive in the wilderness along with some provisions and clean clothes, though they seemed to be the same as hers, just smaller. In that time, I learned that I was useless with a bow, but Artemis would not let me just abandon it, as it would be one of the most useful tools for hunting. She said that my mom's dagger was made of celestial bronze and would only hurt monsters and demigods, not mortals. As a result, she left me with a pair of silver daggers that would be able to kill animals along with werewolves, though I think she may have been kidding, and a spear with a silver tip. Finally, it was time for her to leave, so she conjured up a tent for me and explained how it would pack up.

This is how I spent the next year, just staying further and further in the wilderness, at first, the monsters weren't too bad, but after a few months, they became a daily occurrence, thankfully, I had gotten proficient with the spear and knives in that time. Bow, not so much, though, the arrow did go in the general direction I was aiming now, not backwards. I was starting to run low on nectar and ambrosia, but it was fine, I had picked up some other ways to heal myself, though, surprisingly, one was stepping in the water, I wondered if that made Poseidon my dad, or if it was some minor god of the ocean.

In this time, I had outgrown my clothes, so I had to learn how to turn the skins and furs of the animals I hunted into clothing, as I wasn't quite ready to go all natural yet, hadn't been in the woods that long. Strangely enough, one thing I found in my supplies had been course notes for all of the standard classes through high school, I guess Artemis hadn't wanted me to turn into some ignorant person since I was stuck in the woods, one thing I noticed, all of her notes were in Greek, I wondered why I could read them until I saw a note explaining the dyslexia and ADHD of demigods. The note told me I was being home-schooled in a Greek Language Private school and that my work would go to be graded, it seemed like a lot of work to go through for her, but I guess it offered an easy solution for her to know if I was alive, not that I knew why she would care. Funnily enough, my grades were the best they ever were as I was getting B's and A's instead D's and F's. Due to how much free time I had, especially after a big kill, which would give me food for weeks, I had managed to advance through the classes fairly quickly. I was already on tenth grade material, and at this pace, would be done by Christmas, as it was June right now. I wondered about going to University though, I could get in to a good one with these grades, but I wouldn't do too well if I had to learn in English again, maybe I could go University abroad, could be fun, these woods are starting to get boring and rather dangerous. I had started to get attacked by things that looked like big dogs, but smelled of sulfur, I thought they may be the hell hounds mentioned in my mythology books.

Around Christmas, I was finally able to graduate from my "home-schooling", though I hadn't yet decided to take any tests to see about university, I was only 11 and a half at this point, who would want to go to school that young? Though, I was able to go and find myself a job now if I wanted to, as I had a valid diploma, thank you Mist, and emancipation papers. Quickly, I began to disassemble my campy, thankfully, the tent was magically expanded and would be able to fit all of my belongings, yet fold up into a backpack. As a result, the whole process only took five minutes as I put out the fire and destroyed any signs of my having been there, along with picking up the weapons that I planned to carry, after all, it would be silly to die on my way out of the forest.

As I was preparing to leave my camp site for good and see what money I could get for my spare furs and skins, I was surprised to find Artemis staring at me with a piercing gaze.

"I should have known it, the eyes are a dead giveaway."

"Sorry, what Lady Artemis?"

"There has been a situation on Olympus, someone stole Zeus' lightning bolt and he has accused Poseidon, when he was accused, he reminded Zeus gods couldn't steal each other's symbols of power. At this, Zeus accused Poseidon of having a demigod and having their kid steal it. Poseidon tried to cover it up, but we found out he broke his oath, the Big Three swore never to have kids after the Second World War, Zeus broke that oath first, but it seems Poseidon did too. You are a child of Poseidon. Now, I need to bring you to Olympus, so we can either clear your name, or recover the bolt. Hopefully you live, you've become a fine hunter, and not quite as dumb as most of my Uncle's children, though, your archery could still use some work."

"Um, okay, wow. I had some guesses, but they seemed crazy. Wow, Poseidon is my father, explains the healing in water. I didn't steal the bolt, after all, I've been right here for the past year and a half, but I'm willing to go, not that I have much of a choice, maybe I'll even get to talk to my dad."

"Glad to see that you are still respectful, other sons of the big three would be getting arrogant now and denying the gods, claiming they had better things to do. If you have everything you wish to take, then let us go. Actually, let me get you some new clothes, that is fine for the woods, but, not for meeting the gods."

My hunting outfit changed into a silver, European Style suit, with matching tie and shoes, though the button-up shirt was black, have to say, I looked sharp.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis."

"It was no problem, now you will look respectable and it should help your case. Now, close your eyes, I am going to flash us onto Olympus."

I did as suggested, but could still see a blinding flash through my eyelids. We flashed onto what seemed to be the main street on Olympus as I could see gods and goddesses lounging around, salespeople selling ambrosia, nectar, and weapons. I was amazed, though that was nothing compared to when I looked to the side and noticed that the city was on a cloud which seemed to be situated over the Empire State Building.

Eventually, we found ourselves outside a large pair of doors, ones that probably led into the throne room on Olympus. I was a little nervous, I would actually see my father, I still held some resentment, but not over him not being there for me, but for allowing mom to die. Ancient laws prevented him from helping, and I know that, but it doesn't mean I can accept that, he should have taken the punishment and helped. Hopefully we can have a good relationship.

I noticed the size of the gods as we walked in, they were all around 15 feet tall, I wonder if this was to make the demigods and other visitors respect them, or were they just that egotistical. Most of the gods were people who would be considered beautiful, or handsome, but one, Dionysus, I guessed looked like he belonged in a trailer park, and the other Hephaestus, looked like he could be considered ruggedly good looking if it wasn't for his bent leg. The goddesses, what more to say, they looked like goddesses, though, Artemis seemed the most natural and thus, best looking to me.

"Daughter, who is this child you have brought to see us?" The god in the throne of lightning bellowed.

"Father, this is Perseus, he is Poseidon's demigod, but he could not have stolen the bolt, I brought him here to clear his name and prevent Poseidon's wrath if you harmed him."

"So, you did break the oath, tell me why I shouldn't kill the little thief now?"

"Because I never harmed Thalia, and because you are not so arrogant to believe you would win. I know you have killed the mother of Hades' children in the past, should you continue this path, neither my brother nor I will let it stand."

"Fine, how do you know he is innocent?"

"I ran into him a year and a half ago in the forest in up-state New York, his mom was killed by Pasiphae's son and he had just managed to survive. I explained to him about the gods and gave him some ambrosia before offering to set him on his way to Camp Halfblood, he declined so I gave him the necessary tools to survive in the wild as he impressed me. Aside from that, I set up a way for him to legally be on his own and to continue his schooling. I believe he just graduated from a Greek Language Home-schooling course."

"I did, I have a high school degree with a 3.8 GPA."

"Are you sure you're Seaweed Brain's child, you seem too intelligent for that." A woman with storm grey eyes mocked.

"How dare you, and yes, he is my child. I am sorry for your mother, son. She was a queen among mortals. I only wish she had agreed to come live under the ocean with me."

"Tell me, boy, did you steal my master bolt?"

"No, I didn't even know it was missing until Lady Artemis informed me."

"Is he telling the truth, Apollo?"

"Yes."

"Very well, we will have to find the bolt less it fall into unworthy hands. Now, we must vote on whether the boy lives or dies. He presents a great threat to Olympus, should he live to be 16."

I was shocked, they may kill me just because of something that may happen, a prophecy if I had to guess, that didn't seem fair, though I shouldn't be surprised based on the mythology I had read.

"My son shall not be killed, or you will all answer to me." My father roared, shaking the floor of the throne room, I guess he really is the Earth Shaker.

"All who believe he needs to die?"

Zeus, Athena, Ares, Hera, and Dionysus all raised their hands.

Artemis, Apollo, Demeter, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Poseidon all kept their hands down, seems I get to live.

Zeus didn't seem too happy.

"Well, Perseus Jackson, it seems you get to live, but you will be restricted to Camp Halfblood and must keep an ear out for any info about my master bolt, if you betray us, you shall regret it."

All the gods but Artemis and Poseidon walked out. Here I finally noticed that Poseidon was dressed as some beach bum in some board shorts and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, I wonder if I could pull that look off.

"My boy, it is great to finally be able to talk to you," Poseidon said while pulling me into a crushing hug.

"It's good to finally meet you, Dad. I just wish mom was still alive."

"Me too, she was a good woman. Now, I know that you have been training in the wild, but have you trained your water powers?"

"I only noticed I healed in the water and got stronger while in it."

"That's just scratching the surface, play around with it and see what you can do. I will claim you when you get to Camp Halfblood, but unfortunately, I have to go deal with a meeting in Atlantis. If you need to talk to me, you can send me an iris message, though I am busy, often, so I may be unable to respond. Niece, will you take him back to camp?"

"Yes, Uncle, it shouldn't be an issue." As Poseidon flashed out, Artemis turned to me, "Now, how about a brief spar before we go to camp, I wish to see how far you have progressed, if you impress me we can go hunting. Oh, and before I forget, you better treat women well at camp, or else you will be a cute little fluffy Jackalope."

"Yes, Lady Artemis. My mom taught me to always be polite to women."

Due to the spar and hunt, we didn't make it to camp until right after dinner was wrapping up, but, we teleported into the middle of the dining area.

"My lady, what brings you this late? Ah, the child that Mr. D. told me about, it is a pleasure to meet you Perseus."

"Yes, Chiron, he is to be here until further notice, I leave him in your capable hands."

As Artemis flashed out, I noticed a little floating symbol of a trident over my head. I guess dad kept his word to claim me immediately.

"The bloodline is determined. Poseidon - Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Lord of Horses. Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

**So, thoughts? Probably a paring with Artemis. Decided to make a smarter, more well-rounded Perseus Jackson.**


End file.
